Notts County came away 3-0 victors against a determined Harrogate Town side this afternoon who left Meadow Lane unable to convert their chances into goals.
There was very little to split the sides over the course. However, clinical finishing by Langstaff, Jones and O’Brien put the game beyond Simon Weaver’s side.
Off the back of a 5-1 victory against Gillingham on Monday, Town travelled down to face Notts County in the hope of picking up another three points and continue the late charge for the play-off places.
For the team news, it was two changes for Simon Weaver with Cornelius and Odoh entering the starting lineup in replace of Dooley and Sivi.
As for the home side, it was one change for them with Bostock replacing the injured Robertson in midfield after their last outing of a 3-3 draw against MK Dons.
It was a composed start for Notts County as Town struggled to get a hold of the ball in the opening 5 minutes and shortly after had the first chance of the game as Nemane played a neat one-two with Crowley and found himself through on goal beyond the defence.
He latched onto the heavy pass to poke the ball beyond the on-rushing Belshaw to give them the lead however the linesman raised his flag for offside.
Despite the early signs of warning, Town responded well as Daly won the ball back in midfield and laid it off to Thomson who found Daly once more.
With a clear sight of goal his effort on his weaker left foot couldn’t find the net and called Ashby-Hammond into action with a good save with his feet putting the ball out for a corner.
The resulting corner led to two chances in quick succession for Town as the ball went short to Thomson who had a strike from outside the box but ended up being an easy save for the keeper.
The fair share of chances kept coming in the opening quarter of an hour as Austin tried his luck from range, but Belshaw dealt with the shot comfortably.
5 minutes before the break, Notts County looked destined to take the lead as some patient play on the edge of the Town box led to Crowley having a shot across the face of goal which had beaten Belshaw, but O’Connor was in the right place at the right time to divert the ball off the goal line to safety.
A minute later, Town had a chance of their own in an end-to-end first 45 minutes as Sutton took a quick free kick to find March who spotted Daly through the middle, he got his shot off and tried to scoop the ball over Ashby-Hammond, but the keeper was their again to deny Daly his goal.
On the stroke of half time Notts County won a penalty as Nemane nutmegged Sutton and tried to latch onto the ball the other side of him but he went down under the challenge and the referee pointed to the spot.
Langstaff stepped up and confidently made it 25 for the campaign sending Belshaw the wrong way.
It was a quick start to the second half for Town as much of the play was in the final third.
On 56 minutes, Odoh earned Town a penalty as Cornelius fired a low ball across the box to find Odoh, the ball bobbled around in the air and Odoh went down after a high kick Baldwin who was shown a yellow card.
Thomson stepped up and struck it well into the bottom left but Ashby-Hammond guessing right to push the ball away from danger.
A minute later, Town had another golden opportunity to draw level as Sutton send a ball over to Odoh who took the ball down and strike the ball which was heading goalwards but the keeper was there again to keep the home side in the lead.
There was clear momentum for Town after the penalty miss with a few chances in quick succession as Odoh pulled the ball back to Cornelius who had time and space to pick his spot from 8 yards out but Baldwin came across with a slide tackle to prevent the shot on goal.
Despite sustained pressure, on 75 minutes Notts County hit on the counter attack as Jodi Jones drove through the heart of the Town defence and unleashed a fierce strike from outside the box into the bottom left corner making it 2-0 against the run of play.
With 10 minutes to go Folarin replaced Sutton in the attempt to be the creative spark to get his side back into the game and his first involvement did just that as he took the ball around the keeper and stayed on his feet, he managed to get a shot off, but the defenders got back in time to make a goal line clearance.
The home side made it three on 88 minutes as Crowley floated in a dangerous looking ball into the six-yard box which was met by O’Brien with a downward header which bounced into the top corner to ensure defeat for Simon Weaver’s side.
